5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 17)

Roman Reigns fires Paul Heyman; Brock Lesnar wrecks shop; SmackDown's worst segment in years?

by Jamie Kennedy
Roman Reigns The Usos Paul Heyman Con-Chair-To
WWE

WWE saved one of 2021's biggest storyline moments for the end of the year.

Roman Reigns has officially split from Paul Heyman, and one of the wrestling's best double acts is in the history books. On the plus side, WWE will probably now put Heyman back beside Brock Lesnar (who needs a mouthpiece way more than Roman) and run with that during WrestleMania 38 season.

The angle made this week's SmackDown newsworthy, but it wasn't the only nod towards the future Friday night had to offer. WWE busily prepared a babyface team to challenge for tag-team gold, and there's some moving and shaking going on with the Ridge Holland/Sheamus tandem too.

Glaring negatives came in the form of more Toni Storm mediocrity, the trials and tribulations of one Shayna Baszler, and a segment so bad it caused fans in Chicago to chant for AEW stars. Vince McMahon can't be happy with that, but he only has himself to blame for signing off on something this dreadful.

Here are all the 'Ups' and the 'Downs' from SmackDown, including that mish-mash of storyline genius and chat show hell.

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.